Field
The following relates to computing and/or communication devices, such as cell phones, laptops, smart phones, digital assistants, and more particularly to approaches for facilitating multi-role usages of such devices.
Related Art
Today, many companies provide their employees with a device that can be used for activities such as sending and receiving e-mail, instant messages, tweets, and so on. Such devices also can have a variety of additional functions, such as being able to run applications. Such applications can include business applications, such as presentation tools, spreadsheets, analytical tools, and so on. Further, many of these devices now have large storage capacity, such that a wider variety of data can be stored for longer periods of time on the devices. These devices also have an increasingly sophisticated suite of network interfaces, including Personal Area Networking (e.g., Bluetooth), wireless LAN (e.g., 802.11 series wireless standards), and Wide Area Network (WAN) technologies, such as an increasingly wide variety of high-speed cellular data technologies being made available.
As such devices have become more full-featured, with better connectivity, entities, such as businesses, have found value in their members (e.g., employees) having these devices available. Users of these devices also have found value in having such devices available more consistently, as they can be increasingly productive and mobile, with more flexibility as to where and when they can work.
Users also have evidenced increased demand for such devices in their personal lives. Many such users desire to have particular applications available to them on their devices, as well as their contacts and other data. However, such users likely also would find it less convenient to carry physically distinct devices for different roles, such as for personal use and for business use. Businesses also may find the value of such devices diminished if users do not have them available when not at work, especially in an increasingly global workforce, spread amongst disparate timezones.
However, users may wish to avoid business-related interruptions at some times. Businesses, and other entities, may desire to enforce access policies for their proprietary data, applications provided on the device, and so on.
Therefore, there is a need for devices and systems that can meet the needs both of users of these devices and entities that may be providing such devices to the users, or otherwise providing data or applications that will be resident on such devices.